Former Chicago Blackhawks players and Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita have rejoined the Chicago Blackhawks family and have been named as official Blackhawks ambassadors. Hull and Mikita will represent the Blackhawks at events at the United Center and throughout the Chicagoland area.

This morning, I was reading this thread of people’s favorite personal hockey stories. This one gave me a laugh:

At a game between Cal State Northridge and Sacramento State while the refs were sorting out the penalties, Bryan Adam’s song ‘Everything I do (I do it for you)’ was playing over the PA system.

CSUN’s goalie takes his helmet off and starts doing some figure skater styled jumps (in full goalie gear) while belting the song out at the top of his lungs.

Anyway, it got me thinking about whether any KK members have a short-and-sweet hockey story they’d like to tell? If so, feel free to tell it in the comments of this post and I’ll do a random draw of all the entries on Friday at 12 noon (ET) for a $25 gift certificate to Ice Jerseys.com.

Just be sure you’re logged into your member account when you leave your comment entry. (And if you’re not a member, you can register here quick and easy).

P.S. I reserve the right to completely disregard bad entries… “I went to a game and saw a fight” doesn’t count! (Well, unless it involves cheerleaders, or something…)

NHL Network, the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey, today announced it has secured the exclusive U.S. rights to the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic, Dec. 26, 2007 – Jan. 5, 2008. The upcoming tournament marks the first time the World Junior Championship will be telecast live on NHL Network in the United States.

NHL Network in the U.S. will televise live coverage of the entire medal round of the 2008 World Junior Championship, including both quarterfinal games, both semifinal contests, the bronze-medal game and the gold-medal game. All games will be televised in HD and will receive at least one primetime re-air on the network.

The NHL will never, ever get rid of the instigator penalty. It would be so politically incorrect it defies consideration. The league says repeatedly it is comfortable with where fighting is now, largely because stiff penalties have eliminated nasty brawls. Fact is, we see more brawls in baseball than we do in hockey these days.

You think Gary Bettman is going to stand before a microphone and tell the world the league has decided, for the good of the game, the NHL will let goons run the show? Ain’t gonna happen, folks.

read on... I don’t think the “rest of the world” even knows what the instigator rule is….

The Montreal Canadiens have more than Alex Ovechkin to keep an eye on Thursday night when they visit the Washington Capitals.

Unheralded defenceman Mike Green is blossoming into an offensive force on the back end for the Caps. He was tied with Montreal’s Andrei Markov for the NHL lead in goals by defencemen at eight apiece before other games Wednesday night, a surprising piece of trivia even for the most ardent hockey fans.

“My buddies, that’s about it,” Green said with a laugh when asked who might know the answer to that question.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Karri Ramo and defenseman Jay Leach from the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, Executive Vice President and General Manager Jay Feaster announced. Leach has been recalled on an emergency basis.

continued... You know Tampa cannot be happy with the current goaltending situation…

Costas said that while he hasn’t covered hockey recently, his job on the broadcast will be similar to the role he performs at the Kentucky Derby and golf tournaments.

“Other guys have more expertise in these sports than I do, not that I don’t enjoy them,” Costas said. “It’s my job to provide overview and set the scene. That’s how I’ll approach it here. I’m not going to analyze the game. I’ll present the concept. It really is an event.”

An event that has clearly captured the imagination of Costas.

“It’s unique,” Costas said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited.”

The other three broadcasters and NBC Sports producer Sam Flood were in agreement that they’re really excited about the game, which could set a North American record for attendance at a hockey game.

New York Islanders forward Chris Simon has been suspended for 30 games, without pay, for deliberately kicking Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jarkko Ruutu at 14:06 of the third period of NHL Game #472 on December 15, 2007. Simon will be eligible to return to NHL play in two months (February 21, 2008 vs. Tampa Bay).

“Several factors were considered in imposing the longest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice incident,” said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. “While it was fortunate there was no serious injury to Mr. Ruutu as a result of Simon’s action, the deliberate act of kicking an opponent with an exposed skate blade, especially where the opponent is in a vulnerable position, is and always has been a repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey.

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